Cat and Bird
by DaughterOfTerpsichore
Summary: AU: It is the summer of 1900. The Jellicles are a gang in New York City. They know of the newsies from last year's strike, but they have never or rarely come in contact. That is, until a graceful gangster and her heartbroken older brother meet a reserved newsboy and his goofy best friend in an unexpected—and forbidden—circumstance.


**Hi everyone! My thinking in preparation for this crossover was basically that some characters from Newsies were extremely underappreciated, and that I hadn't written a fanfic about Cats, even though it's my favorite musical. The Jellicles do not have accents, with the possible exception of Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer. The newsies do have their accents, however.**

 **Each chapter will alternate between Victoria and Finch's PoV and Misto and Elmer's PoV with the occasional variation (e.g., a possible Plato section later ;-)…). Let me know what you think of it or if you have any other PoV ideas!**

 **Please review, favorite, follow, and enjoy! I value suggestions, advice, and constructive criticism, so if you have any, please put it in your review! Thanks in advance!**

 **Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Cats or Newsies. :-(**

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 **Chapter One**

 **July 15th, 1900**

 **Victoria**

"Hey, Vicky!" called my brother. "Come back! You're not allowed to leave the Junkyard by yourself! Especially at night!"

I'd lived in the Junkyard—our gang's nickname for our home in the basement of an abandoned hotel— for as long as I could remember. At twelve, I'd been allowed to join the older Jellicles in criminal activities. But even now, two years later, I still wasn't allowed to venture off into Manhattan on my own.

I looked back at him, widening my eyes and pouting my lips. "Misto, please. I want to see the world. And if you leave with me, I won't be by myself."

He sighed in annoyance, running his hands through his black hair. He and I contrasted like night and day. Where his hair was dark, mine was light blonde, nearly white. He was so confident, while I was far too shy for my own good. Sometimes—actually, a lot of times—I wished I had his guts.

"Vicky, I'm supposed to take care of you," Mistoffelees said, placing a hand on my shoulder. I winced; he had hit a bruise under my white sweater. I'd gotten it at last night's burglary. "Sorry." He let go.

"It's okay." I paused a moment, then hushed my voice. "Misto," I said softly, even though the night was quiet and we were outside alone, "are you okay talking about Tugger?"

He glanced away for a moment. "I guess. I mean, you're Vicky. I can talk to you about anything." He took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. I hugged my older brother. "In all honesty," he continued after a moment, still holding me as if I was his lifeline, "I can't hate Bomba for it. She's a good person, and she's always been nice to us."

Rum Tum Tugger, Misto's ex-boyfriend, had dumped him stylishly—and rather insensitively—week ago for Bombalurina, a flirty redhead. Tugger and Bomba were both a few years older than Misto, who was only sixteen, at twenty-one and twenty. I would still be fourteen until September.

I loved my brother so much, and it hurt a lot to see him in so much internal pain. He was used to covering up all his feelings, though, and I was pretty much the only one he'd talk too.

Misto's black shirt was starting to tear at the seams, and I could feel his lean muscles underneath the thin fabric. His worn pants had holes at the knees, and the dark boots on his feet were becoming worn.

My poor big brother. My poor, hurt, exhausted, heartbroken older brother.

 **Finch**

Elmer fake-snored obnoxiously. I groaned. "Elmer, go ta sleep," I mumbled. "You'se should be in bed by now." Yawning, I rolled over, stuffing my head in the limp pillow on my cot. He responded by "snoring" even louder. I was glad it was just the two of us and occasionally Les and Davey in our room. "Elmerrr...some of us need rest..."

He leaped out of bed. "Hey, Finch, wanna go on a walk?"

"A what?" I groaned.

"C'mon, we's gonna have fun! We's gonna take a walk outside "

"We's gonna take a walk outside at one in the mornin'? Sorry, not happenin'." I was starting to wake up now, so I flipped onto my back and shoved my pillow in my face defiantly.

"Fi-nch," Elmer sang, "ya know ya wanna! C'mon!"

" _Why_ , Elmer?"

He paused. "Didn't think that far." He changed topics. "But don'tcha think it'll be excitin'? I've never been 'round New York at night."

"There's a reason for that," I said, sitting up and rubbing my eyes. "You'se is fourteen, Elmer, and you never know what's out there at night."

"You'se is only a year older than me, so don't go 'round tellin' me what I can and can't do." His words seemed scathing, but he said them in a joking, brotherly way. "C'mon, _please_ , Finch."

I sighed, standing up. I figured it would help me stand my ground if I was actually standing. I don't know how that worked, but it felt like it in the moment. "Elmer. No. If we's are gonna leave, we gotta let Jack or at least Race know, and I'se not eager to wake them up."

"But you're awake now!" This time, Elmer didn't wait for my response. He grabbed me by the shoulder and dragged me down the stairs. I struggled, but my reflexes were still slow from lack of sleep.

The air outside was cold even though it was summer. "Elmer!" I said. "Whaddaya think ya doin'?"

"Takin' a walk! Whaddaya think I'se doin'?"

I gave up. "Ya know what? Fine. We's can take a walk."

"Yay!"

The moon, full and bright, shone down on my best friend's messy caramel hair. I rolled my eyes. He was so...carefree. So young and innocent.

He was so beautiful. Lively hazel eyes darted from building to sidewalk in wonder. His dirt-smudged smooth skin glowed dimly in the moonlight. His lips parted slightly, and I was overcome with the sudden urge to kiss him.

Yes, I was in love with my best friend.

 **Victoria**

I stood in the shadow of the Junkyard, yards away from the entrance. "Let's go back inside, Victoria," my brother whispered in my ear. "You need your rest."

Something that Mistoffelees didn't seem to understand: I would not be persuaded.

I had something I needed to do.

I let go of my brother and smiled sadly at him. "You're probably right. Big day tomorrow, huh?" I didn't know exactly what we were going to be doing, but Munkustrap, our silver-eyed leader, had mentioned that it was important.

"That's my girl," said Misto, ruffling my moonlit hair and stepping back. "C'mon." He began towards the door.

I closed my eyes and paused for a moment. "Misto, I'm really sorry about this." And I ran.

I knew the streets better than my brother thought I did. Mistoffelees, caught by surprise, raced after me, but he was too slow. Both of us were nimble and quick, but we were equally so, and I had a head start. We both knew that he would never catch up.

I don't know when he stopped following me. But by the time I had arrived, I could no longer hear footsteps behind me. I bit my lip, knowing I would face the consequences later, but right now, I didn't care.

The alley around me was by far one of the nicest ones of the poorer parts of New York City. The ground was clean, or at least it was devoid of most trash. The walls were graffiti-free; the Jellicles and minor gangs had not yet claimed this thin strip of territory. It was dimly lit and silent.

That's what made it so perfect.

 **Finch**

Elmer turned to look at me, his eyes full of hope and excitement. "Eh, Finch, there's someone I's like ya to meet." He took off through the maze of streets. I followed.

He stopped, and I nearly bumped into him. My heart sped up in my chest.

"Elmer?" came a soft, musical voice from down the alley where we had stopped. It was a girl's voice. "Elmer!" She flew out of the darkness and into Elmer's arms, where they stood for a moment, holding each other. Tactfully, I looked away, fighting to resist the urge to punch the mystery girl.

When I glanced back, I focused on the details, ignoring the crushing weight of this new knowledge.

She was one of the most beautiful girls I'd ever seen. Her hair was white blond and hung in a loose braid that reached just past her elbows. Enchanting ice blue eyes gazed into Elmer's, and his own honey-colored ones admired her in the same fashion. She wore a white blouse with a silver ribbon tied around her slender waist and a man's gray pants. Girls traditionally wore skirts, but there was one group notorious for their feminization of pants. The Jellicles.

Just at the thought of the ruthless gang of teenage criminals, Finch could already feel goosebumps rising on his arms.

The girl spoke releasing Elmer to my relief. "I'm sorry, Elms, I couldn't get Misto to come with me." _Who the heck is Misto?_ I thought.

"No matter, Vic." He turned to me suddenly, as if just remembering I was there. "Eh, Finch, this is my goil, Victoria."

I swallowed, plastering a friendly smile on my face. "Hey, Victoria. I'm Finch." I spit into my hand and extended it for her to shake, expecting her to squeal or yelp or something.

"Victoria," she said, spitting and shaking my hand to my surprise. We both wiped our hands on our pants.

"I didn't know Elmer here had a goil," I said, clapping my friend on the shoulder. I'd grown up pretending I didn't like boys, so it wasn't hard to act like we were only friends. We _were_ only friends. He didn't like guys. And he had a girl.

To be honest, I liked girls too, but I like boys a _lot_ more. And Victoria was really rather gorgeous, but my crush was dating her. _God, why is everything so complicated?_ I wondered.

"Victoria's in the Jellicles," said Elmer, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"She's _what?_ " I asked, leaping backwards a few feet and almost losing my balance.

Victoria laughed, smirking. "No need to worry, Finch. I'm only a Jellicle cat."

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 **Hello again! What did you think? Also, don't jump to conclusions on the relationships between Victoria, Misto, Finch, and Elmer. Nothing is quite as it seems! Reviews are golden!**


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